Married
by heltor
Summary: Final chapter up!!! Mr. Simmons has a new class project, where people are paired up and get to see what married life is like for a week. And our favorite couple is getting
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold! or any of its characters.  
  
"Married"  
  
Chapter 1  
  
**********  
  
A sunny day at P.S. 118 found all the students in Mr. Simmons' fourth grade class chattering away excitedly. Rhonda was telling Nadine about her summer in France. Helga was daydreaming, and occasionally scribbling in her little pink book. Phoebe was trying out her new chemistry set, while Gerald was recounting another urban legend for Arnold. Harold was whining about how hungry he was, as Sid and Stinky were pointing and laughing at Eugene, who had somehow  
gotten his hair caught in the pencil sharpener.  
  
Mr. Simmons walked into the classroom.  
  
"Um, hello class, please settle down now," he said. The class eventually quieted down.  
  
Mr. Simmons smiled. "Now class, I have a very special assignment for you today. I will assign you to a partner, and for a week, you will be married! Doesn't that sound wonderful?" The whole class groaned.  
  
"Married?" grumbled Harold. "I don't want to be married to a girl!"   
  
"Yeah," said Sid, "can't we do something else?"  
  
"Now class," said Mr. Simmons, looking a little disheartened, "this will be a good learning experience for all of you..."  
  
"Aw man!" said Gerald. "That never means anything good!"  
  
"All right, class," said Mr. Simmons hastily. "Here are your partners..." He picked up a piece of paper and began to read. "Gerald is with Phoebe..."  
  
The two looked at each other shyly and exchanged small smiles.  
  
"Sheena with Eugene...Stinky with Lila...Helga with Arnold..."  
  
"Arnold!" Helga sighed dreamily, pulling out her locket and gazing at his picture. "Oh Arnold my love, married! The one chance to live out my girlhood dreams! The chance for you to look past my facade and see me not as a tyrant, but as a caring, poetic girl with fears and hopes and dreams! Perhaps this time I will tell you my true feelings!"  
  
She paused, hearing a wheezing behind her. Without bothering to turn around, she socked Brainy in the face, knocking him out.  
  
**********  
  
Mr. Simmons, luckily, did not see any of this, as he was on the other side of the room helping Eugene untangle his hair from the pencil sharpener. Meanwhile, Arnold and Gerald were discussing the assignment.  
  
"Man, Arnold, you're always getting stuck with Helga! If I didn't know any better, I'd say someone was putting you two together on purpose."  
  
"Yeah," said Arnold. He glanced at Helga, who was sitting at her desk, wearing a very dazed look. "Well, maybe it won't be so bad-Helga can be kinda nice when she wants to."  
  
Gerald shook his head. "If you say so, Arnold." They were suddenly distracted by Curly, who had taken the opportunity of Mr. Simmons' lack of attention to begin tearing books and throwing them out of the window. Mr. Simmons' came rushing over.  
  
"Now Curly-please don't do that-we need those books-"  
  
Curly only screeched maniacally with laughter, as he continued to turn pages into confetti.  
  
**********  
  
Once Mr. Simmons had gotten the class under control, he continued explaining the assignment.   
  
"You will spend time at each other's houses, get to know each other's families, and do at least one activity together that a couple might do, such as shopping. After a week, you will present to the class how well you found you did as a married couple. Doesn't that sound wonderful, class?"  
  
Just then, the bell rang, and the mass of grumbling students quickly left the classroom.   
  
Outside, Helga was complaining to Phoebe.  
  
"Crimeny! I can't believe this, Pheebs. We have to go over to each other's houses?"  
  
"You know, Helga," said Phoebe, "I think it will be quite interesting to go to Gerald's house and meet his family. You may find you'll think the same thing."  
  
"It's not that, Pheebs," said Helga indignantly, "I just don't want Arnold to be in my house for too long." Seeing concern on Phoebe's face, Helga suddenly got defensive and said, "Aw, what do I care? I just don't want the stupid football head touching all my stuff!"  
  
And with that, she stormed off.   
  
**********  
  
Arnold arrived home after playing a game of baseball in Gerald Field, and went up to his room. He grabbed his remote control, and turned on his lights and some quiet music. He picked up the phone and called the Pataki's. He heard Big Bob answer.  
  
"Hello?" Bob growled. "This had better be good, Maurice, I was in the middle of watching my new beeper commercial..."  
  
"Uh, Mr. Pataki? This is Arnold, can I talk to Helga please?"  
  
"What?" said Bob. "Oh, sure."  
  
"Hey Olga!" Arnold could hear Big Bob yelling upstairs, and then faintly heard, "It's Helga, Dad!"  
  
"Oh, well your little friend Alfred is on the phone!" he yelled.  
  
"Arnold?" Helga jumped up from her bed with a start and dropped her book of poetry to the floor. She picked up the phone and tentatively said, "Hello?"  
  
"Hi Helga? It's Arnold."  
  
"Oh, hi, football head."  
  
"Hi, um, I was wondering, I know we have to do this project, I was wondering if you could come over to my house tomorrow morning, and then we can go over to your house later on."  
  
"Sure, Arnoldo, that sounds fine."  
  
"Okay then, I'll see you tomorrow Helga."  
  
"See ya, Arnold." Helga picked up her book of poetry and flopped back onto her bed.  
  
**********  
  
Please let me know what you think. I'm trying to get them to stay in character. Chapter 2 will be up soon!  
  



	2. Chapter 2

First, a couple of notes...I know that this is a lot like the egg story one, but I was out of ideas when I was thinking up a plot. But I promise you; this will involve their families, etc., a bit more, and possibly go a little deeper. Thank you so much for all the nice reviews! They make my day!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold! or any of its characters.  
  
Chapter 2  
  
**********  
  
Helga rang Arnold's doorbell the next morning and waited. She heard a lot of scuffling and a pig oinking. Finally, Arnold's grandpa answered the door. Helga prayed that he wouldn't remember her from the many times she had ended up at Sunset Arms Boarding House uninvited.  
  
If he did, he didn't show any sign of it. "Oh, you must be Arnold's little friend," he said. "Come on in, Arnold's up in his room."  
  
Helga went upstairs, pulled down the trapdoor leading to the attic, and climbed the stairs. She knocked on his door and then cautiously pushed it open.  
  
"Arnold? Hey football head, you there?"  
  
"What? Oh, yeah, come on in, Helga."  
  
Helga walked into his room. She had seen it several times before, but Arnold only knew about one occasion, in which she fell through his roof while trying to recover a tape that had a confession of her secret on it. No one had mentioned the incident since.  
  
Helga wracked her brain, trying to think of something nice to say. "Cool room."  
  
Arnold looked a bit taken aback for a minute, but then said, "Thanks, Helga."  
  
"Alright Arnoldo, so what are we supposed to be doing? I have other more important things to do, you know."  
  
Arnold looked at a sheet that had been given out to the class. "We're supposed to get to know each other's families, and go to each other's houses at least twice." Arnold shut his notebook. "Come on, I'll take you to meet my grandparents and the boarders."  
  
Arnold led her downstairs and into the kitchen. "Hi, grandma," he said. Helga could see his grandmother was cutting a watermelon. She turned around with a plateful and set it down on the table. "Eat up, Kimba. You too, Eleanor." Helga froze, and glanced out of the corner of her eye at Arnold. She had once, while sleepwalking, ended up in Arnold's kitchen, with Arnold's grandmother calling her Eleanor Roosevelt. When Helga had left, Arnold's grandma told him that Eleanor Roosevelt had been called away on official White House business. But now, he luckily didn't seem to have been paying any attention.  
  
After their watermelon, Arnold led her into the den and over to a chessboard, where his grandpa and another man were sitting.  
  
"Helga, this is my grandpa,"  
  
"Hello," said Arnold's grandpa.  
  
"And this is Mr. Hyunh-"  
  
"Hello!" said Mr. Hyunh with a thick accent and a large smile.  
  
"And this is Mr. and Mrs. Kahkashka," said Arnold.  
  
"Oh, hello, little girl," said Mr. Kahkashka.  
  
"Hey," said Helga, "watch who you're calling little!"  
  
"Heh, heh. Sorry, little girl, heh heh." He then turned back to his wife. "But Suzy, it's only a little money..."  
  
"I said no, Oskar..."  
  
Arnold walked over to a short, balding man.  
  
"And this is Mr. Potts. Mr. Potts, this is Helga..."  
  
"Hiya, Helga," said Ernie, shaking her hand. "Do you like knocking down stuff?"  
  
"You bet I do!"  
  
"Well, that's my job..." he boasted.  
  
After awhile, Arnold turned to Helga. "Helga, should we..."  
  
Helga sighed. "Yeah, I guess it's time Arnoldo...let's go to my house."  
  
**********  
  
Sorry to stop there, but I've got to go and get ready for finals! Wish me luck! I should have much more time in 2-3 weeks! I have a little more written, so if I have any spare time, I'll see if I can add more and post it. Thank you!!!  



	3. Chapter 3

Ok guys I'm working on making the chapters a little longer, etc. I really should be studying but I thought I'd work on this a little. I've been inspired by the great fic "Discovery". Thanks for all your comments!  
  
(Later) I finished my finals!!!! No more school!!! Yay!!!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold! or any of its characters.  
  
Chapter 3  
  
**********  
  
"Well, let me give you the grand tour," said Helga sarcastically.  
  
She started walking very quickly, and Arnold followed behind, trying to keep up.  
  
"Let's see...there's the front hall--kitchen--dining room--TV room--" she said quickly while pointing at the different doorways.  
  
"And now let's go upstairs," she said, climbing the staircase at a fast pace. While running after her, Arnold wondered why she was in such a hurry. Once they reached the foot of the stairs, Helga continued to breeze down the hallway.  
  
"Helga, why are you in such a hurry?"   
  
"No reason Arnold, it's just that my house isn't very interesting, got it?" She gave him a menacing look.  
  
"Whatever you say, Helga. Hey, what's in here?"  
  
"Nothing..." said Helga, but Arnold had already gone in.  
  
"Wow! Look at all these trophies! Whose are they?"  
  
"Only my sister Olga's," Helga said, with a slight bitterness in her voice.  
  
"Oh" Arnold could tell that the subject agitated her, and decided to drop it. But to his surprise, Helga continued talking.  
  
"And you want to know something, football head? There's not one trophy in there of mine! Not one! Crimeny!" She looked up suddenly, as if she had said more than she meant to.  
  
"And what are we standing around like idiots for? Come on, let's go!" Helga marched down the hallway again, pointing out doors. "There's my parents' room...Olga's room...and there's my room," she added hastily. "Okay, that's about it, let's go now," she said a little nervously.  
  
"Wait, Helga. Can I see your room?" Without waiting for her to answer, he pushed the door open. He wouldn't normally be so rude, but he had a feeling that Helga would say no no matter what, and he was very curious to see what kind of room she had. Arnold had seen it once, when Helga had amnesia, but he was too worried about Helga at the time to get a look at the room itself.  
  
"No, Arnold! Wait!" But it was too late. Arnold had walked in, and Helga could only pray that she had remembered to hide anything relic of her worship of him.  
  
"Hey, Helga," --Helga braced herself, preparing for the worst-- "you've got heart wallpaper!"  
  
Helga relaxed a little. "Yeah? So what if I do? It's a free country!"  
  
"I don't know," said Arnold, "it just-doesn't seem like you."  
  
"Well, Arnoldo, maybe you don't know everything about me, okay?"  
  
"Hey Helga, your football fell down from your closet." Arnold reached over to pick it up.  
  
Part of her shrine! Helga panicked. She ran towards him and grabbed it away. "Don't grab my stuff, geek-bait, ever again!" she yelled.  
  
"Fine, Helga," said Arnold, looking a little hurt.  
  
"Hey-Arnold," said Helga.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I'm-I'm sorry."  
  
**********  
  
Helga had introduced Arnold to her mother, Miriam. Her mother seemed to be very tired, and was asleep with a cup of coffee in her hand, slumped across the kitchen table.  
  
"MIRIAM!" Helga had shouted, trying to wake her mother up after three attempts. It worked, and her mother had opened her eyes and said lazily, "Hi, honey, what do you want?"  
  
"Miriam, this is Arnold, Arnold, Miriam. There." She had walked out of the kitchen, and her mother had promptly fallen asleep again.   
  
Helga had turned to him. "Okay Arnoldo, you've met my mother, and my father isn't home, so I can't introduce you to Big Bob. And since Olga is away at school, I'm afraid you won't get the privilege of meeting her this time around," she had said, with a wry smile. "So then I guess it's time for you to go, the show's over for today."  
  
"Well, uh, okay Helga..." he had said. "Do you want to come over again in a couple of days?"  
  
Helga's expression had softened for a minute, and she said, "Yeah, sure, Arnold."  
  
Then she said, "See you in a few days, football head!" and shut the door.  
  
**********  
  
Arnold laid down on his bed and stared at the dark, star-dotted night through his skylight. He couldn't figure out Helga. She was loud, and bossy, and mean, but at times, she seemed to let the nice person inside of her show through. He really liked being with her when she was nice. "Well, Arnoldo, maybe you don't know everything about me, okay?" She was right. He certainly didn't.  
  
**********  
  
"Hello, Helga," said Phoebe.  
  
"Hey, Pheebs," Helga said.  
  
"How was your weekend with Arnold?"  
  
"Well," Helga said, "I supposed it could have been worse. At least he didn't see any of my-" Helga was about to mention her poetry and shrines, when she realized Phoebe didn't know about any of that. Phoebe knew she liked Arnold, but didn't realize just how obsessed Helga was.  
  
"My-my baby pictures or anything," Helga gave a little laugh. "That would have been embarrassing."  
  
"Right, Helga," Phoebe said with a smile.  
  
"So," Helga volunteered, trying to change the subject, "how did things go with Gerald?"  
  
"Oh, delightful! I mean," Phoebe added, "Well, very well."  
  
"Uh-huh," Helga said suspiciously. Just then, the bell rang.  
  
"Well," said Phoebe, "we had better get to class!"  
  
"Sure Pheebs," Helga replied. "Do me a favor and hold my books, okay?"  
  
"Holding."  
  
**********  
  
Helga walked into the classroom and passed Arnold, who was talking with Gerald. He gave her a small smile and she returned it, then suddenly frowned.   
  
"Crimeny!" Helga muttered to herself. "It's like I do it without even thinking!" She wondered what Dr. Bliss would say.   
  
Arnold stared at Helga as she walked back to her desk after first smiling, and then scowling at him. It was almost as if there were two conflicting sides within her, the first nice, the one that smiled at him, but then the meaner side of her took over-the frown. Only more confirmation of what he already knew, that there was a sweeter side to her.  
  
"Class," Mr. Simmons said, trying to get everyone's attention, "remember that your projects are due this Friday. You should already have gone to each other's houses' at least once. Don't forget, get to know your 'spouses' families!"  
  
The class grumbled, while Mr. Simmons smiled and said, "Now, who is ready for a very exciting science lecture?"  
  
Arnold closed his eyes and sighed.  
  
**********  
  
During lunch, Arnold walked to Helga. She was laughing at Harold, who had eaten some shaving cream, and saying to Phoebe, "Can you believe Pink Boy over here? What an idiot," she said, chuckling. Arnold tapped her on the shoulder.  
  
"Uh, Helga?"  
  
"Arnold!" Helga whipped around, looking surprised, and then glared. "Don't scare me like that, football head!"  
  
"Uh, sorry. Listen, we only have a few days left, we should get together again at each of our houses."  
  
"Yeah, sure Arnold, how's my house today afterschool?"  
  
"Great. See ya then, Helga!"   
  
"Yeah, see ya, Hair Boy."  
  
**********  
  
Ok guys, that's all for now. I'll put up more in a little while. Sorry that it's been so long without any postings, I've been very busy b/c of finals. But now they're OVER!!!!!!! Yes!!!!! Sorry happy. Anyway let me know what you think. Have any ideas on what direction the story should take? Thanks!  
  
  



	4. Chapter 4

Ok here's Chapter 4! Sorry that it's been a little while, I've been away and stuff, so I haven't really been keeping my promise about having a lot more time once summer was here! So sorry 'bout that! And once again, thank you for all the nice reviews!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold! or any of its characters.  
  
Chapter 4  
  
**********  
  
At 3:00 the bell rang and everyone rushed out of class, glad to see the end of the school day. Outside in front of the school, Arnold looked around for Helga but couldn't find her. He went around to the back, and then thought he saw a flash of pink behind a dumpster. He went to investigate.  
  
Helga was holding out her locket, and whispering, "Oh Arnold, how I wish that today is the day I can tell you my secret! That I can finally bare my soul to you and be free of this torment-"  
  
"Helga?"  
  
Helga whipped around and found Arnold looking at her oddly.  
  
"What are you doing back here?" he asked.  
  
"Nothing Arnold, nothing at all," Helga said quickly.  
  
"Um, okay," said Arnold, clearly still puzzled. "Well, are you ready to go?"  
  
"Sure, football head. Now come on, let's go before we miss the bus!" she suddenly yelled.  
  
They ran as fast as they could to the front of P.S. 118, only to find the bus pulling away.  
  
"Oh great Arnoldo, now we've missed the bus. We're going to have to walk all the way home."  
  
"Come on Helga, it's not that far."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," said Helga. "Well, let's go, if we want to be home before nightfall," she said harshly.  
  
"Helga, you're acting like it's my fault. I wasn't the one lurking behind dumpsters, remember?"  
  
"Hmph," was Helga's reply.  
  
They walked for a few minutes in silence. Arnold kept glancing at Helga. She still looked angry, her fists clenched and her eyes set. Helga looked at him, and finally said, "What, Arnold? You keep looking at me."  
  
"You just still seem kinda mad, Helga."  
  
"Well I'm not mad, Arnold, so don't worry about me, okay?"  
  
"Okay, Helga."   
  
**********  
  
They got to Helga's house and went inside. Suddenly Helga was acting very friendly towards him.   
  
"So Arnold, make yourself at home," she said. She started going through the shelves of their kitchen. "Want something to eat? Here, have some pork rinds," she said, tossing them over her shoulder at him.  
  
"Thanks," said Arnold, genuinely surprised. "Don't you want some, Helga?"  
  
"Pork rinds?" she answered. "Noooo, no thank you. I don't do well with pork rinds."  
  
"Okay," Arnold replied.   
  
"So, you've yet to meet Big Bob...I think he's home early today, come on, we'll go find him."  
  
They went into the TV room and found him sitting in a large chair, one hand in a huge bowl of potato chips. He was apparently watching a soap opera, because he was yelling "No! Don't kiss her! She's the evil twin!" at the television screen.  
  
"Uh, Dad?" said Helga.  
  
"Oh, hi Olga."  
  
"It's Helga, Dad," Helga said with disgust.  
  
"Of course it is. So what can I do for you?"  
  
"This is Arnold, from school."  
  
"Oh yeah, I remember you. Hey, his head is shaped just like that weird little mask you were wearing one night when we all thought you were nuts!"  
  
"Dad!" Helga yelled. Arnold wasn't sure if she was mad about Mr. Pataki mentioning the mask or that he thought Helga was crazy.  
  
"Okay, time to go," said Helga, pulling Arnold out of the room.  
  
**********  
  
They went back into the kitchen.   
  
"Helga?"  
  
"Yeah Arnold?"  
  
"We're supposed to write a report for this too."   
  
"Oh that's right, I forgot...okay do we each do half or something?"  
  
"The paper says we're supposed to write about our experiences at each other's houses and how well we got along, if we learned anything about each other."  
  
"Alright, that sounds easy enough."  
  
Arnold hoped that Helga wouldn't write anything too horrible about him in her paper...but then again, if she had to hand it in, it couldn't be too bad.  
  
Helga was thinking about what she should say in her paper about Arnold...they didn't have to show them to each other, did they?   
  
"Helga?"  
  
Helga saw Arnold looking at her curiously, and realized she hadn't said anything for quite some time. Fumbling, she said the first words that she could think of.  
  
"Well, Arnoldo, I know just what I'm going to say about you-that you're a dumb football head full of nothing but lame-brained ideas!"  
  
"Helga!" said Arnold suddenly, taking her by surprise. "Why do you always have to do that?"  
  
"Arnold, I'm-I'm-" Helga started.  
  
"Just forget it," said Arnold, walking towards her front door. "I'll see you later," he said, right before he shut the door behind him.  
  
**********  
  
Arnold didn't know why he had lost his cool like that. Usually he was able to just ignore Helga when she made that kind of comment. He didn't understand it-he would be so sure they were making some progress, that maybe she really was nice-and then she would go and insult him again. Maybe this had just been one time too many.  
  
**********  
  
Helga didn't know why she had said that. It was almost like a defense mechanism-the minute she got uncomfortable, she started spouting insults all over the place. No wonder Arnold had been so mad.  
  
"Criminey!" She muttered to herself. "You're finally starting to get along with the guy, and you have to go and say something like that! I have to tell him I'm sorry!"  
  
**********  
  
Helga tried all day at school to get Arnold's attention to try and talk to him, but he kept avoiding her and saying, "Not now, Helga, I'm busy," whenever she tried to pull him away. Finally, Helga had had enough.  
  
Just as Arnold was about to get on the bus home, he felt someone grab his wrist and drag him away. He turned and saw the back of Helga's blonde head, and found himself being pulled all the way to the back of the school.  
  
Arnold could hear Rhonda complaining to Harold, saying "Honestly, Harold, if you're going to be my husband, I want you to wear some stylish clothes."  
  
"Aww Rhonda, I don't wanna wear any goofy old suits, they're-" Harold stopped as he saw Helga and Arnold.  
  
"Hey Ahrnooold!" Harold called out. "Is widdle baby Hewlga going to beat you up?"  
  
Arnold certainly hoped not. Helga finally stopped at the playground and turned to face him. "Look, Arnold," she began.  
  
"What, Helga, here to insult me more? Is that why you've been trying to get my attention all day?"  
  
"No, football head," Helga said, her voice growing threateningly loud, "I've been trying all day to tell you that I'm sorry, okay?"  
  
"What?" answered Arnold.  
  
Helga lowered her voice. "I'm sorry, alright? It was mean to say that to you yesterday and just-really dumb, so I'm sorry, okay?"  
  
"You're-sorry?" Arnold said in disbelief.  
  
"Yeah," said Helga.  
  
"It was-mean of you? And-dumb?" Arnold couldn't seem to comprehend that Helga was actually giving him a heartfelt apology.  
  
"Criminey, Arnold, do I have to repeat myself?" Helga started getting louder once again.  
  
"No, no-I mean-it's okay, Helga, I forgive you." Arnold said.  
  
"Really?" Helga now seemed to be the one in slight disbelief.  
  
"Sure." They walked out to the front of P.S. 118 together, and saw that the bus was gone. Arnold sighed.  
  
"Well," he said, "since it looks like we've both missed the bus yet again, do you want to come over to my house?"  
  
**********  
  
Ok that's it for now. I've already written the end, so it looks like there should be just another chapter or two up in between. I could keep going with this chapter but I feel bad about taking so long to get this one out, so I'll just post this one up for now and try to have the next part up soon. So sorry that it took so long, hope you enjoy!  
  



	5. Chapter 5

Hello everyone! I'm sorry that this took so long, but it's finally done! And thanks kitfunk, I'm flattered you like my story so much! Enjoy!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold! or any of its characters.  
  
Chapter 5  
  
**********  
  
Helga couldn't believe what she was doing. She was at Arnold's house, cutting watermelon (in a very unconventional way) with Arnold's grandma, and actually having fun.  
  
"Go on Eleanor, give it a try," said Arnold's grandma.  
  
"Okay," said Helga. She narrowed her eyes in concentration, lifted up her hand, and brought it down with a yell, splitting a piece of watermelon in half and splattering seeds and juice everywhere.  
  
"I did it!" said Helga with surprise.   
  
"Of course you did, dear," said Arnold's grandma, smiling.  
  
Arnold poked his head in the kitchen. "What was that?" He looked at the watermelon-stained walls. "What have you two been doing?" he asked.  
  
"Cutting watermelon, Arnold," said Helga calmly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.  
  
"Right." Arnold replied. He was surprised at how well Helga seemed to be getting along with his family and the boarders; his grandma in particular. Not only had she been sitting there with his grandma for almost an hour, she had played checkers with his grandpa, arm-wrestled Mr. Potts, and won a bet against Oskar. More than anything, she seemed to be having a good time, which made her a lot more fun to be around.  
  
"Come along, Kimba, you and Eleanor and I are all going to feed my cats," said Arnold's grandma, pulling out a gray catsuit for each of them.  
  
**********  
  
"So, Helga," Arnold said as they were walking to his front door, "we are supposed to do an activity together, like shopping. What do you want to do?"  
  
"Well, I know for sure I don't want to spend the day cleaning the house or something," replied Helga.  
  
"How about we-I don't know, bake something?" said Arnold.  
  
"Bake something?"  
  
"A wedding cake," said Arnold, smiling.  
  
"A wedding cake?" said Helga skeptically.  
  
"Come on Helga, it would be very-appropriate. And besides, we get to eat it afterwards."  
  
"Well-okay," said Helga.  
  
"Great." They made plans to shop for ingredients and then bake it that Friday after school. After Helga left, Arnold found himself glancing back at her as she walked down the street. He then shook his head, as if to clear his senses, and went back inside.  
  
**********  
  
"Hey Pheebs, how's it going?" asked Helga as she sat down on a playground bench next to Phoebe, narrowly missing Eugene and Sheena, who were dancing and saying, "a-five, six, seven, eight and jump!", oblivious to everything else.  
  
"Looks like those two are having fun," Helga said dryly.  
  
"Yes Helga, I believe they are dancing as their activity as a married couple," said Phoebe. "Speaking of which, have you and Arnold decided what you will be doing yet?"  
  
"Yeah," said Helga. "We're baking something."  
  
"Really," said Phoebe. "So are we-a pizza. What will you be making?"  
  
"A-a wedding cake," said Helga.  
  
"Really?" Phoebe had an odd look on her face. "Well, that's certainly in the spirit of the project!"  
  
"It was Arnold's idea."  
  
"Arnold's idea. Hmmm," said Phoebe. "Very interesting."  
  
**********  
  
It was Friday afternoon, five minutes before the end of school. Mr. Simmons had just finished reading a very long book of poems, and had let the class have a few minutes of free time.  
"Hey Arnold," said Gerald. "Want to go play baseball in the park today after school?"  
  
"I can't, Gerald," he said. "I'm baking a cake with Helga."  
  
"You can't play baseball because you're baking a cake with Helga?" said Gerald, astonished.  
  
"Yeah, we're making a wedding cake. Actually, I've kinda been having fun with her."  
  
"Wedding cake? Having fun?" Gerald said this with even more amazement than before, if possible.  
  
"Well-yeah," Arnold admitted.  
  
Gerald gave a low whistle. "You're a bold kid, Arnold."  
  
Just then Mr. Simmons called out, "Remember class, your papers are due Monday on how well you and your spouse did as a married couple! And," he chuckled, "I want you to be honest, so you don't have to show anybody else your paper. See you Monday!" The bell rang and everyone scrambled out of the room as fast as they could.  
  
Arnold found Helga at her locker. "Ready?" he asked.  
  
"Yep," said Helga. "Let's go shopping!"  
  
**********  
  
After buying ingredients they returned to Arnold's house. The two worked well together (aside from Helga pushing Arnold, who was mixing the batter, out of the way to get to it herself while saying, "Put some muscle into it!") and were soon decorating it with white icing. When they were done, they stood back and looked at their work.   
  
"It almost looks too pretty to eat," said Helga.  
  
"Yeah," said Arnold, passing her a fork. They both looked at each other, smiled, and at the same time, ran madly for the cake, brandishing their forks.  
  
**********  
  
"Hey Helga," Arnold said after awhile, full of cake. "What are you going to say about me in your paper?"  
  
Helga froze for a moment before answering with a smirk, "What do you think I'm going to say about you?"  
  
"I don't know," he replied.   
  
"What are you going to say about me?" Helga asked, trying not to get her hopes up but not doing a very good job.  
  
"I asked you first," said Arnold, looking straight at her.  
  
Helga didn't know what to say. "Well, I guess you'll never know, will you?" she said with a short laugh. Arnold didn't say anything, he just kept sitting there and looking at her oddly. Feeling nervous, she stood up and quickly said, "Well, football head, it's been fun, but I must be going now, see you later!"  
  
"Helga, wait-" said Arnold, following her. But she had already shut the door, and he could see her running down the street. Arnold walked back into the kitchen, very confused.  
  
**********  
  
Helga got to her house, ran up to her room, and shut the door. She hated running off like that, but she didn't know what else to do. She didn't know what she was going to write about Arnold herself, and the way he kept looking at her, she got scared that he was starting to guess why she wasn't sure what to say.  
  
She flopped down onto her bed and thought about it. "Well," she said to herself, "if he's not going to read it, what do I have to lose?" She opened up a notebook and began busily writing.  
  
**********  
  
Later that night Arnold was sitting and thinking about what had happened that afternoon. He supposed that for some reason he had made Helga very uncomfortable with his question-but why? He hoped for once that she would have something nice to say about him. He thought of all the fun that they had been having over the past week. He decided no matter what she did, he was going to write something nice about her. He smiled and began writing.  
  
**********  
  
That Monday morning it was gray and cloudy, with sheets of rain pouring down on everyone as they got off the bus. Helga was careful to make sure that her paper was safely tucked in a folder and couldn't get wet. She went inside and sat down at her desk, right behind Arnold. He didn't say anything to her and so she didn't say anything to him either. Mr. Simmons walked in.  
  
"Class," he said, "before I forget, let me collect your papers."  
  
"Uh, Mr. Simmons?" said Sid.   
"Yes, Sid?"  
  
"I-don't have my paper."  
  
"Well why not Sid?"  
  
"Curly ate it," Sid said, pointing in Curly's direction. Curly sat there very quietly for a moment. Then he spit out a large ball of chewed paper, Sid's report.  
  
**********  
  
By the time the class was under control, and it had been determined that Sid's paper wasn't salvageable, it was mid-morning. Mr. Simmons cleared his throat, and said, "Alright class, please pass your papers up to the front of the room-and no eating!"  
  
Arnold read the last sentence of Helga's essay quickly before handing both of their papers in, just to get an idea of what Helga had said about him. Maybe, just once, she would have something good to say. He began to read:  
  
'In conclusion, I learned absolutely nothing at all about Arnold'-Arnold's heart sank-'that I didn't already know-that he is a kind, caring person who always has faith in others, and where some wouldn't, is willing to give people a second chance.'  
  
Arnold looked up from the report, grinning broadly, and passed it up to Mr. Simmons, who was collecting the papers at the front of the room.  
  
**********  
  
"Hey Helga," said Arnold, running up to Helga, who was carrying a large stack of books in her arms.  
  
"Oh," said Helga, "Hi Arnold."  
  
"I saw what you wrote about me, Helga," he said.  
  
"Oh-that," stammered Helga. "That was-that was-"  
  
"Really, really nice of you to say," Arnold finished, smiling.  
  
"Oh," said Helga, sounding surprised, "Well, I guess-I guess that you're not such a bad guy, Arnold," she said quickly, looking down at her feet.  
  
Arnold's smile became even wider. "And you're not so bad either, Helga," he said.  
  
Helga's cheeks showed the faintest shade of pink, matching her dress. Then she said sharply, "Well, Arnoldo, if you'll excuse me, I've gotta go home now."  
  
"Wait," said Arnold, "Can I walk you home?"  
  
"I-I guess."  
  
Helga began walking, her stack of books leaning dangerously to one side, until finally one fell off the top. Arnold picked it up and said, "Can I carry your books for you?"  
  
"I said you could walk me home, don't go getting all mushy on me, football head!" said Helga. She could sense Arnold beginning to back off, and softened.  
  
"Well-I guess you could take half."  
  
Arnold took half her books and they walked out through the doors of P.S. 118 into the bright sunlight.  
  
**********  
  
The End  
  
**********  
  
So? Did you all like it? I know the ending is like "Beaned", which I did on purpose, with only a little change. But I think once you figure it out you'll like it. (If you don't figure it out, email me, heltor44@hotmail.com). Should I write another? Let me know!  
  
  
  
  
  



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